Freshman Video Game Champion

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Corey's been playing video games his whole life. N64, Playstation, Game Boy Color - you name it he's played it. He and his friends spend weekends practicing their skills and mastering their digital moves.

"I play video games all the time. Just about every weekend my friends and I have sleepovers and play games with each other, my friend's younger sister and her friends," says Corey.

He never thought his gaming skills would pay off until he and his buddy Bryan found out about a video game contest at their high school. The event was organized by the leadership program and they had done lots of promotion to get people to sign up.

"Just about everyone in our school signed up for it. Not just the boys but all of the girls too," says Corey.

Preparing to compete against all of the older kids in his high school made 14 year-old Corey anxious but he didn't do any extra practicing. He played a few games and waited. When the day of the event arrived he played a few warm-up games then settled down for some serious competition.

After leaping into a second place spot in the preliminaries, Corey had no problems advancing to the quarter-finals where the winner would be settled by fast and furious four-player Super Smash Brothers matches. Corey's a master at Super Smash Brothers. With his strategy and some serious skillz he plowed through the competition and came in second again. In the semi-finals Corey was paired with his buddy Bryan and the two of them kicked serious butt. Corey ended up in first and they both advanced to the Finals. In the final round, according to Corey: "We rocked! I came in 1st and Bryan came in 2nd. It was cool!"

Winning the contest put Corey on top of the world. He picked up a copy of Pokemon Stadium, a $25 card for a local arcade and the title of "Best Video Game Player" in his high school.

What's next for this Gaming Champion? "I'm hoping to do well next year too, because I have to hold onto and protect my title," says Corey.